A1C test, also called the HbA1c or glycated hemoglobin test, may be soon used as a tool for diagnosing type 2 diabetes, representants of leading diabetes organizations in the US revealed.

 

A1C test has been used for years to monitor blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. The test measures the concentration of hemoglobin molecules in someone’s red blood cells that have glucose attached to them. People who don’t have diabetes usually have about a 6 or less reading. Results higher than 6 indicate the presence of diabetes.

 

“Right now there are no criteria for A1C use in diagnosing diabetes, but we know it is being used in practices this way,” says Matt Petersen, director of information resources for the American Diabetes Association.

 

The organization’s current guidelines recommend the use of fasting blood glucose (FBG) test or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), but the latter is less common. Their results clearly show whether a person has type 2 diabetes no matter what that person ate prior to the tests.

 

The A1C test may be used as a diagnosis tool within six months, if leading diabetes organizations in the United States come to a consensus. The test is also a good predictor of future complications like nerve, eye and kidney damage.

 

Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death in the US. There are some 25 million Americans living with the disease, with 6.2 million not even knowing that they have it. To make things even worse, an additional 54 million Americans have pre-diabetes, placing them at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

 

The American Diabetes Association estimates there will be nearly 50 million people with diabetes by 2025, especially that obesity epidemic continues to spread. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to change sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.

 

Diabetes risk factors include being overweight, sedentary, persons with a family history of diabetes and women who have babies with a birth weight of greater than nine pounds.